Senior Spotlight: Gettin' Down
By: Cliff Judy, KWCH 12 Eyewitness News
Updated: August 2, 2010
At Medicalodge, Otis Dailey likes to say, "Don't nothin' get old but the clothes." His job is to get creative with resident rehab.
"I don't like to see nobody hurting or in pain or anything like that," says Dailey, "and just to see these people get out of bed and see these people move around and see these people try to carry on a semi-normal life, it makes me feel good."
Late last year, Dailey decided to give disco dancing a try, and several residents admit they're already starting to feel younger. For 30 minutes a day, three days a week, simple dance moves are a way to work sore joints.
Dailey says the results have been more than he ever expected, mostly because of the residents themselves.
Troy Ballinger had quadruple bypass surgery just two years ago, but most residents agree he's the craziest dancer in the room. When asked why he's been given such a title, he simply replies, "Because I'm wild!"
"I was down for the count, I thought," Ballinger says of his surgery two years ago, "but I feel like a new man."
For others, the progress so far is only the beginning. Katherine Shea has a new goal.
"Soon as I was working on my legs, I told Otis he's going to have to teach me how to dance when I stand up," says Shea. "I can't wait."
Dailey says his philosophy is centered around proving others wrong.
"A lot of people think just because you're in a nursing home, you're supposed to lay down," says Dailey, "but my people don't lay down here. We get up and we boogie. We boogie."
The residents at Medicalodge dance every Monday through Wednesday.
